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GOP REPORT: DoD BEARS SOME BLAME FOR BENGHAZI — The Defense Department has limited liability for the deadly Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, according to an interim report by five Republican-led House committees. The report faults President Barack Obama with failure to “proactively anticipate the significance of September 11 and provide the Department of Defense with the authority to launch offensive operations beyond self-defense” but also praises Pentagon officials for their quick response to the attacks.

“Combined with the failure of the president to anticipate the significance of the day and to proactively authorize the Defense Department with an alert posture to launch offensive operations beyond self-defense, forces were provided no notice to defend diplomatic facilities,” says the report, which heaps scathing criticism on the State Department and its then-secretary, Hillary Clinton.

DEMS FIRE BACK: In response, Democrats are arguing that House Speaker John Boehner issued a “partisan staff report on Benghazi,” giving them no time to vet the document. “By abandoning regular order and excluding Democratic members entirely from this process, you are unnecessarily politicizing our national security and casting aside the system used by the House for generations to avoid making obvious mistakes, errors and omissions,” top congressional Democrats said in a letter.

DRIVING THE DAY — FOR DEFENSE CONTRACTORS, SEQUESTER SINKING IN: Boeing, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman are set to release their first-quarter earnings this morning, following Lockheed Martin’s announcement yesterday. The world’s largest defense contractor saw its per-share earnings increase to $2.33 during the first three months of the year, up from $2.03 during the same period last year. This was mostly taken as good news for the company, even as it said it would lose $825 million in sales this year as a result of sequestration — the first time it had factored the across-the-board cuts into its projections.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT: The Armed Forces Foundation, a nonprofit that helps veterans returning from war, hosted its ninth annual congressional gala last night at the Ronald Reagan Building. Spotted at the event: Gen. John Campbell, who took over last month as Army vice chief of staff; Michael Fisher, chief of U.S. Border Patrol; NASCAR driver Jeff Burton; and several members of Congress including Reps. Darrell Issa, Steve Womack, Bill Johnson, Jon Runyan and Duncan Hunter.

FLEET FIGHT HEATS UP — NAVY PROJECTS FLEET WILL SHRINK IN NEAR TERM: The Navy projects that its battle fleet will fall from 283 ships today to about 270 ships in fiscal 2015 and will not rise above its current strength until fiscal year 2018, according to planning documents obtained by POLITICO. The service, having abandoned its onetime aspiration to field 313 ships, would hit 300 in fiscal 2019, but dip below that in the next year, then surpass 302 in fiscal 2024 and stay above 300 for several more years.

Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes, a leading advocate for shipbuilding, blasted the Navy’s projections yesterday. “If decline is a choice, this new 30-year shipbuilding plan willingly chooses to continue the slow, painful decline of American seapower,” Forbes said.

— NAVY RESPONDS: “We believe the information found in these tables clearly articulates our intention to modernize and grow the fleet to our required minimum of 306 ships,” said the service’s top spokesman, Rear Adm. John Kirby. “We have been upfront and transparent about the need to decommission older ships, while at the same [time] introducing new and more capable platforms.”

— IN OTHER NAVY NEWS: A team assigned to test the cybersecurity features aboard the Littoral Combat Ship has found major deficiencies, reports Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News. More here: http://bit.ly/ZHC8l5

ARMY SAYS SEQUESTER COULD FORCE 100,000-TROOP REDUCTION — Testifying before SASC yesterday, Army leaders said the across-the-board cuts would force the service to reduce end strength by an additional 100,000 soldiers over the next decade. “Today we find our Army at a dangerous crossroads,” Army Secretary John McHugh told lawmakers. The service is currently downsizing and plans to reduce its ranks from a wartime high of 570,000 soldiers to 490,000. More here, via The Associated Press: http://bit.ly/Y1Maz9

WILL OBAMA FIGHT FOR BRAC? That’s the big question, according to Foreign Policy’s Kevin Baron. A HASC staffer tells Baron that Congress simply won’t go along with a plan to close military bases unless the president expends some political capital on the issue — in the form of a veto threat. But, a senior defense official says, “It’s too early to talk about vetoes when Congress hasn’t really even started the budget debate yet.” More here: http://atfp.co/10wo3u9

STILL NO LIGHT-ATTACK AIRCRAFT FOR AFGHAN MILITARY, per Defensetech: A top commander in Afghanistan yesterday discussed the many hiccups that have prevented the Afghan military from getting light-attack aircraft, which are considered critical to its post-2014 efforts to secure the country. “They have no close air support capability as we would define it,” Air Force Maj. Gen. H.D. “Jake” Polumbo told reporters in a video briefing from Kabul.

For one, the Brazilian aerospace company Embraer faces a second GAO protest from rival company Beechcraft, which has once again disputed the Air Force’s decision to award Embraer the contract for A29B Super Tucano planes to be delivered to Afghanistan. And, of course, there’s the problem of training Afghan troops to fly the aircraft, given that many of them can’t read or write, Polumbo said. Defensetech’s Richard Sisk has more: http://bit.ly/15Fo5AR

INDUSTRY INTEL — NORTHROP TOPS FIRST-QUARTER LOBBYING: Northrop Grumman continues to lead top defense contractors in spending on lobbying, shelling out $5.82 million in the first quarter of this year, according to newly filed disclosure forms analyzed by POLITICO. That’s up about 43 percent from the same period last year — and from its fourth-quarter lobbying spending of $4.51 million. General Dynamics, Raytheon and United Technologies all increased their lobbying during this first quarter, compared to the same period a year ago — up 6 percent for GD and Raytheon and 19 percent for UTC.

Lockheed Martin, Boeing and BAE Systems spent less during this quarter than in the same period last year.

WHAT PROS ARE READING:

— DOMESTIC DRONE BACKERS CITE BOSTON, by POLITICO’s Juana Summers: “Drone advocates eager to combat the secrecy and controversy that have clung to unmanned aircraft say they could have come in very handy during last week’s Boston crisis. And some members of Congress say they agree.” http://politico.pro/12GLQWj

— TO PROTECT DRONE, NORTHROP GRUMMAN WAGES BEHIND-THE-SCENES FIGHT, by POLITICO’s Austin Wright: “Northrop Grumman is turning to its inside game as it fights to protect one of its top surveillance drones. Company executives are counting on support from influential members of Congress to overturn the Air Force’s plan to stop buying the Global Hawk Block 30 after 2014, according to a source familiar with the program.” http://politico.pro/17VbEjC

WHO’S WHERE WHEN:

9:30 a.m.: The Stimson Center hosts a discussion in Washington on the Air Force’s use of drones. Speakers include Lt. Gen. Larry James, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and Rachel Stohl, a senior associate at the Stimson Center.

10 a.m.: SASC’s Subcommittee on Personnel holds a hearing on the Guard and Reserve budgets. Witnesses include Thomas Lamont, assistant secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; Juan Garcia, assistant secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs; and Daniel Ginsberg, assistant secretary of the Air Force for Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

10 a.m.: HASC’s Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces holds a hearing on the Navy and Air Force budget requests for FY14.

10:15 a.m.: The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs holds a hearing on the implications of the Affordable Care Act on VA healthcare.

11:30 a.m.: HASC’s Subcommittee on Readiness holds a hearing on Air Force readiness.

2:30 p.m.: SASC’s Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Supports holds a hearing on military construction and base closures. Witnesses include John Conger, acting deputy under secretary of Defense, Installations and Environment and representatives from each of the services.

— AIR FORCE APPOINTS NEW ACQUISITIONS BOSS: The Air Force is adding a new principal secretary for acquisitions, a position that has long stood vacant, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said yesterday. William LaPlante, now an executive with Mitre Corp, will start on the job next month, Donley said. Members of Congress have faulted the Air Force over its leaderless acquisitions division. Donley praised LaPlante as an engineer with "a broad range of technical expertise.”

— PETRAEUS NAMED VISITING PROFESSOR AT CUNY: David Petraeus has been named a visiting professor for public policy at Macaulay Honors College at The City University of New York. “His current research interests,” according to a university press release, “include examination of the ongoing energy, manufacturing, life sciences, and information technology revolutions and their implications for the United States.”

THAT’S ALL FOR US. Have a great Wednesday.

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